


Birthday Pancakes

by Amrynth



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: AU August, Alternate Universe - Pokemon Fusion, Earnest Bren breaks my heart, Gen, The Blumentrio as Pokemon Trainers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:55:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26184556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amrynth/pseuds/Amrynth
Summary: It is Bren's tenth birthday and that means he and the other ten year olds in Blumenthal get their first pokemon!
Relationships: Astrid & Eodwulf & Caleb Widogast
Kudos: 16





	Birthday Pancakes

**Author's Note:**

> Day 29 of AU August was Pokemon AU! Who doesn't love a pokemon au? A friend suggested the Blumentrio with eevees and Caleb evolving his into a Flareon. The hardest part was realizing that Caleb would be Bren in this which sort of threw me at first. Enjoy!!

“Bren? Bren! It’s time to wake up. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten what day it is today.” 

He had forgotten. Well, not entirely, he knew it was an important day and had been curled into the smallest ball he could manage beneath the covers of his bed to savor the feeling of anticipation. Bren made himself smaller until it sank in. He was ten today. Today he would get his first pokemon. 

Once the real meaning of the day settled in, it was like Bren’s brain was on fire and he kicked the blankets off to scramble out of bed. “Ja. Just a minute mom! I’ll be right down!”

He paused just long enough to make the bed, then thundered down to the kitchen to see what breakfast was. 

“Happy Birthday Bren!” Una cheered as he reached the main floor of their small home. She’d been making pancakes and mixed into the batter were multi colored sprinkles to make them birthday pancakes. 

“Thanks, mom,” Bren said, not sure if he was too old for birthday pancakes or not. Ten was a lot, afterall, and maybe he was too old for sprinkles. But looking at the pancakes at his place at the table, they smelled good and familiar and his life was about to change. So he smiled at his mother, sat at the table, and swung his legs from his chair while he ate birthday pancakes. 

“Did you stay up late researching your pokemon?” she asked, pulling her own chair out and sitting down while he ate. 

He had, there were so many factors at stake that he had to take into account when choosing his starter. Was he interested in defense early in his journey or would the later part of his journey when he was approaching the Champion’s Road be more important. Or was he interested in offence, taking out his opponents before they could even touch him? Mouth full of pancake, Bren nodded that yes, he’d been reading. He was always reading. 

“Is dad coming home?” he asked after swallowing. In his last letter, Leofric had promised he would be home in time to see Bren’s first pokemon.

Una’s expression was very careful and tight, and Bren knew what it meant before she gave her answer and despite it. “I’m sure that he is doing his best to make it home today. But he did send a present, maybe it’s a new book.” 

There was no point making a fuss, so Bren shoved another fork of pancake into his mouth. Making his mother feel bad wasn’t going to make his day better. The idea of a new book was exciting; maybe his father wasn’t home very often, but doing work for the Empire took him to interesting places and he always sent books on subjects he thought would interest his son. 

“Now. Don’t forget to take your new bag, Bren. I’ve already put a couple potions in there just in case. And some snacks for both you and your new pokemon. I didn’t know what type you would choose so they’re just normal snacks.” Una took a breath and managed a smile for her son, proud of her boy. “Are you meeting up with Astrid and Eodwulf?”

Bren nodded again, he was the youngest of the group from Blumenthal and now they were all ten. Which meant his birthday was important for the others too. He swallowed a mouthful of pancakes before speaking. “Yes mom. We’re meeting at the professor’s lab.”

“Well I would hate to keep them waiting. I’ll wash the dishes today because it is your birthday. Oh and don’t forget your hat, Bren.” 

“Yes mama.” 

He finished his pancakes quickly before clearing his plate to the sink. Bren stormed up the stairs to peek at the snacks in his bag and pull his hat on. Once he’d reached the front door, he stopped and had to decide if ten was too old to hug his mom goodbye. He would be back anyway, and his mother would always be here. His bag hit the floor right in front of the doorway and Bren ran back to the kitchen, surprising his mother with a fierce hug.

“I’m so proud of you, Bren,” she tucked stray red hair into his hat and smiled down at him. “Happy birthday, sweetie.” 

“I love you, mom.” 

“I love you too. Now. Go and get your pokemon, okay?” 

He smiled up at her, then collected his bag and headed out into Blumenthal. 

The lab was an old building and the Empire had put some efforts into fixing it, but most of the work had gone into improving the interior to the professor’s designs. Both Eodwulf and Astrid were waiting for him along the walkway to get in, also wearing relatively new backpacks. Astrid had a wide hat on, protecting her skin, but Eodwulf had chosen not to wear a hat at all. 

Bren waved as he approached, hitching his bag on his shoulders nervously. Other people made him anxious. He was better with pokemon than people, better with books than pokemon. But he would get better with pokemon, at least, as soon as he had his own. 

“Hey nerd. Are you ready?” Eodwulf asked. There wasn’t any actual malice in the nickname, he’d simply picked it up from the older kids at their school, the ones who had already gone on their pokemon journeys. 

“Be nice. I hope the new professor is good, have you met him?” Astrid fiddled with the strap of her bag, glancing at the lab doors as she spoke. 

Bren shook his head. “I read about his work in the field of evolution though,” he spoke up, hesitant at first and then more confidently when the other two children actually paid attention to him. “He’s done a lot of research into enhancing the bond between trainer and pokemon.” 

“Wow, you really are a nerd.” There was a beat before Eodwulf grinned at him, wide and cheerful. “That’s good, now I know who to ask about type weaknesses while we go on our journey.” 

Astrid joined him in laughter and slowly Bren warmed into laughing with them when he realized they weren’t laughing at him. Oh. He could go on his journey with friends. His heart did a funny thing in his chest, the anticipation and excitement of pokemon and friends making him light headed and a little giddy. 

“Hey kids. Sorry the professor isn’t here yet,” an assistant emerged from the lab and smiled at the three of them. “You can come inside and pick your pokemon while you wait for him, if you’d like.” 

Eodwulf rushed ahead of the other two and Bren trailed along at Astrid’s side walking into the lab. 

“What sort of starter do you want?” Astrid asked, voice low and nervous. 

“I don’t know. Something- I’d like something soft I think. And maybe warm.” It felt a little silly to say he wanted one he could hold and pet. A pokemon that was fuzzy and could sleep next to him while he was on his journey. Bren kept that to himself, not sure how to articulate it to his new maybe-friend without making himself sound like a child. He was ten now and not one of the little kids anymore. “What about you?” 

“I’d like something strong,” she answered, determination in her voice that wasn’t there before. “Someday I’m going to be the pokemon champion.” 

Bren could believe it, looking at how her eyes lit up talking about it. Champion. What child hadn’t thought about becoming the champion? Admittedly Bren was more interested in learning about pokemon than defeating other trainers in battle, but it was inevitable on a journey to battle and become stronger. 

“Aw lame. They’re all the same.” Eodwulf’s voice carried to where they had finally caught up in the center of the lab. 

The three pokemon they were to choose from were already out of their pokeballs, two of them playing together while the third was sitting up high and grooming. 

“Bren, you’re the smart one. What kind of pokemon are they?” Eodwulf asked, kneeling down to look at the two on the floor. 

“They’re eevee,” Bren said, so happy he could answer this question. “They’re all the same type now, but under the right conditions they can evolve into unique types.” He couldn’t stop smiling because they were everything he had hoped for in a starter. 

“They look very huggable,” Astrid said, soft and confidential so that only he could hear. 

Bren laughed. While the other two started to entice the two eevee playing on the floor, Bren walked to the high shelf the third one was sitting on. 

“Hello. Do you want to come down? I have snacks.” Bren pulled his backpack off and set it on a nearby chair. He shuffled in his bag for a moment and pulled out a snack reaching up to try and get it where the eevee would be able to smell it. “Come on.” 

The eevee leaned out, sniffing in the direction of Bren’s offering. It considered him and the snack, and then back to Bren. 

“We could go on a journey together,” Bren offered. 

After careful consideration, the eevee stepped down to a lower shelf, then made the leap onto Bren’s shoulder. It was as warm as he’d imagined, silky fur against his cheek and cold nose against his ear. 

“Oh, hello. I will call you Frumpkin.”

All three children were comfortably getting to know the eevees that had chosen them when the door swung open and the professor finally arrived. He was older and leaned on a walking stick while he surveyed the three of them. Bren, Astrid, and Eodwulf arranged themselves in front of him, their eevees at their feet or in their arms, depending on their preferences. 

“Good. Good. We are going to have a wonderful time together, won't we trainers?” Professor Ikithon said. He smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Let’s get started, shall we?”

**Author's Note:**

> I maybe wrote this for the twist at the end.


End file.
